Hawaii officers win immunity in TASER lawsuit

The court ruled that the officers did not use excessive force during a domestic dispute

MAUI, Hawaii — Police officers responding to a 14-year-old girl’s 911 call reporting domestic violence against her mother did not use excessive force when they deployed a TASER against the alleged victim to get past her to arrest her husband, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday.

A three-judge panel ruled that officers did not violate a Hawaii woman’s civil rights given the dangerous nature of domestic violence situations, the close quarters, the woman’s husband’s intoxicated state and her inadvertent physical contact with an officer.

The officers used the TASER on Jayzel Mattos during the 2006 incident in Maui County after her palms touched Officer Ryan Aikala’s chest while she stood between him and Troy Mattos, who officers were trying to apprehend.